Five-year, $200m plan part of Thynne’s Evolution

Evolution Health Care, led by Healthe Care Australia founder Ben Thynne, is understood to be targeting investments worth as much as $200 million in the next five years. The company, which operates private hospitals, has raised $60 million from investors for a health-care investment vehicle. It has sought funds from wealthy individuals, family offices and superannuation funds.

Thynne was briefly KKR & Co’s consultant during its unsuccessful tilt at Healthscope in 2010. It seems he is again on the front foot despite criticism in recent years for being more of a deal maker than an operating manager. He is well known in the sector, where he has worked for 13 years. Senior adviser at Macquarie Investment Management Private Markets,
Andrew Savage
, (formerly of CHAMP Private Equity and co-founder of CHAMP Ventures) is also on the board of Evolution.

Evolution recently bought an asset in New Zealand for around $30 million. Since Thynne established the company last year, Evolution has also acquired Shellharbour Private Hospital and Wollongong Clinic, reports its website.

Vision Eye Institute’s heavily oversubscribed capital raising suggested solid investor interest in the company but in other areas of the sector, players are struggling to sell companies at a price acceptable to the vendor. Crescent Capital is still pursuing a sale of medical devices marketer Life Healthcare. UBS is managing the protracted auction with the asset said to be worth about $100 million. A potential float was canned last year.

Evolution is thought to be targeting annual returns of 15 per cent to 25 per cent for its investment vehicle. Representatives for the company declined to comment on Evolution’s investment plans.

CHAMP Ventures partnered with the Healthe Care founders and senior management team in August 2007 to expand the company’s operations, in what was to become Australia’s largest privately owned for profit hospital operator. The private equity group then sold Evolution to rival buyout firm Archer Capital for a healthy $240 million last year.